Carrie notes (April 2016):
"I visited Summerhill winery in October 2015 just before the festival of the grape. I went on their tour along with my husband and daughter. I wanted to say that even though the contents of the bottle are vegan, the process is far from vegan. Firstly, when you visit their winery, you will notice part of the floor cut out for some fish. They have the live fish surrounded by rock, and it looks stunning, but it definitely isn't vegan. Secondly, during the tour, it was mentioned that they pay a bee keeper who has a house that is virtually on the property for the use of his bees to pollinate the grapes. They also pay that same bee keeper/farmer for chicken manure to put on the soil for the grapes. Thirdly, they use 'organic' condensed milk on the grape leaves to keep away bugs as a more 'natural' approach than using chemical pesticides. Fourthly, they also bury animal bones to help replenish the soil for the grapes.

"You can verify all of the above with Summerhill Winery, but they clearly lack a vegan mindset when making their wines even though technically there are no animal products in the wine itself."

[Note: Barnivore focuses on the liquid phase of production, though we acknowledge that this is a somewhat arbitrary line. When possible, we take note of things like the above so you can make your own decisions.]

Company email (July 2012):
"I can confirm as the Winemaker for Summerhill we use no animal products or by products, of any kind at any time in our winemaking. We also solely produce wine for Summerhill at our Kelowna Winery and there exists no others that are liscenced to make wine for us."

Company email:
"I am pleased to report that Summerhill uses absolutely no animal products whatsoever in the winemaking process."